Passenger's death no accident: police

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Roadside death ... the Hyundai sedan which hit a power pole on the Bells Line of Road.Photo: Allen Clarke

Police who attended a car crash on the Bells Line of Road in the
Blue Mountains on Sunday at first treated the death of a female
passenger as a fatal accident, yet another victim of the Easter
long weekend road toll.

The woman, Gill Ja Choi, 50, had suffered extensive head
injuries and was dead at the scene of the accident, inside a
Hyundai sedan that had hit a power pole near the small village of
Berambing.

However, in less than 24 hours, police had removed her name from
the road toll statistics after receiving information from an
autopsy.

The driver of the car, Korean-born Sae Dong Lee, 53, of
Marsfield, was yesterday brought before Parramatta Bail Court,
charged with having murdered his de facto wife between 6.35am and
9.44am on Sunday.

Lee sat quietly during his brief appearance before a registrar
of the court.

Police were first alerted to the death by a passing motorist who
came across the car, on the eastern side of the road, after it had
hit a power pole.

At the time, police said in a press release that the motorist
had stopped to help Lee, who "appeared to be in distress".

According to the press statement, the car was being driven
towards Sydney some time in the night when it crashed into a power
pole and came to a stop.

Lee, who appeared uninjured, was taken by ambulance to
Hawkesbury Hospital for treatment. He was later questioned by
detectives at Windsor police station on Saturday night, where he
was subsequently charged with murder.

Police did not submit any evidence to the hearing yesterday to
support the charge of murder; nor was a motive stated.

Lee did not apply for bail.

However, after bail was formally refused and Lee was remanded in
custody to appear tomorrow in Penrith Local Court, his solicitor,
Monique Tran, said her client would be applying for release on bail
at tomorrow's court appearance.